In one of his regular guest blogs for Liv-ex Gavin Quinney of Chateau Bauduc yesterday wrote about the recent sale of Chateau Mauvesin to the Barton family, owners of classified growths Chateau Leoville-Barton and Chateau Langoa Barton. The sale was apparently completed in August allowing time for the Bartons to install new equipment for the 2011 harvest, which they are currently overseeing.

Chateau Mauvesin is situated in the appellation of Moulis, home to two of the Medoc’s most highly rated unclassified estates, Chateau Chasse-Spleen and Chateau Poujeaux. The estate has a long and rich history dating back to1457 when it was one of three “Noble Houses” belonging to Jean de Foix Grailly.  It passed to the De La Riviere family at the end of the 15th century and in 1582, Marguerite, the Lady of Mauvesin, married Jaques Leblanc, adviser to the king at the court of parliament in Bordeaux, who became the Lord of Mauvesin. It was Lodois Leblanc, the last Lord of Mauvesin, who constructed the current chateau in 1853. He died in 1881 leaving the estate to his cousin the Earl of Baritault of Carpia. His descendant, Viscountess A. de Baritault du Carpia, will remain living in the chateau together with Lilian Barton, her husband Michel Sartorius and their two grown-up children, according to Gavin Quinney.

The vineyard covers 48 hectares in a single block surrounding the chateau and is planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Although the estate was included in the original list of 444 Cru Bourgeois estates drawn up in 1932 by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce it was not included in the Cru Bourgeois Calssification of 2003 and did not figure in the Cru Bourgeois listings for the 2008 and 2009 vintages that replaced this classification. Perhaps as a result of this there is little information about the wine in the way of tasting notes but you can expect to see a higher profile for this estate in the coming years.